


Keeping Tabs

by AlexaNDYE



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 12:56:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13388271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexaNDYE/pseuds/AlexaNDYE
Summary: Pepper asks Nat to keep an eye on Tony during the escalation of the Civil War between the Avengers.





	Keeping Tabs

**Author's Note:**

> My New Years Resolution was to write more fanfiction, but I think i'm already failing that, haha.
> 
> (Please bear with me...)
> 
> (Also, all my ideas are sad and angsty. I'm so mean to Pepper and Tony :( .)

“Why, exactly?” Nat asked Pepper over the phone.

 

“I’m worried about him, and hearing about his adventures through the news isn’t exactly comforting,” Pepper explained.

 

Nat looked around the corner to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. She sighed to herself and continued in a hushed tone, “He’s coming over soon to talk with Steve about the incident and about the ‘requests’ from the United Nations. I’ll fill you in as much as I can, but until everything blows over, this has to be a one-way connection.”

 

There was silence for a few seconds.

 

“Okay,” Pepper replied softly.

 

Nat overheard Tony’s voice from the other room. “I have to go. Take care of yourself, Pepper.”

 

“Be careful. Things don’t seem to look very good from this angle,” Pepper replied worriedly before hanging up.

 

\----

 

“You okay?” Nat asked as she placed a comforting hand on Tony’s shoulder.

 

Tony smiled weakly and replied, “Yeah, sure. My left arm is numb. Is that normal?”

 

Nat smirked, but it quickly fell. When Director Fury gave her an important task to survey and ascertain him, she could immediately see right through the curtain of fake emotions he displayed. His weak smile masked the pain and anguish he was truely feeling.

 

\---

 

“You didn’t tell me that you and Tony broke up.”

 

“We didn’t break up. We decided to take a break.”

 

“How are they any different?”

 

“We’re… uncertain.”

 

“Of?”

 

“Of what we both want.”

 

“You want him to stop being Iron Man. He doesn’t.”

 

“It’s about more than that.”

 

“I can see how much of a toll it’s been on him.”

 

Pepper frowned; it pained to hear that even though she was having a hard time dealing with the separation as well. There are times when she has to talk to him about his company, but during those rare times, she could feel physical pain in her heart.

 

“He’s not doing so well,” Nat summarized finally. “Steve isn’t exactly cooperating, and his pal Bucky isn’t all that flattering either.” She sighed. “The team is being torn apart, and I think Tony is shouldering the blame.”

 

Pepper hummed in acknowledgement as she glanced up at the television in front of her. She was on her way to Washington D.C. for business related matters when curiosity got the best of her. She bit her bottom lip in anxiety.

 

While things weren’t going Tony’s way, she was worried he would do something reckless in the events that things went even more south.

 

“Please make sure he’s okay.”

 

“I will, Pepper.”

 

\---

 

The battle at the airport and Rhodey’s fall was all over the news. Pepper got more worried when Nat didn’t call her after the wreckage was cleaned up and things settled down a little. She tried to busy herself with her work, but she could barely concentrate. Her hand hovered over her phone multiple times, but every time, she’d talk herself out of it. She wasn’t sure who she’d call. Rhodey? Nat?

 

Tony?

 

She decided to call the hospital Rhodey was being held at. She talked to him for a few minutes before she decided to let him get some rest. Tony wasn’t mentioned.

 

\---

 

Her phone rang after Col. Helmut Zemo was apprehended.

 

“Tony is going through some things right now,” Nat informed Pepper over the phone. “You should really talk to him.”

 

She didn’t call him.

 

\---

 

A couple days later…

 

Pepper walked into her office at the main Stark Industries building in Los Angeles with a heavy sigh. She had just worked fourteen hours and none of the meetings went the way she thought they would. She was mentally and physically exhausted. Her plan was to fill out her timecard and check out for the weekend. She anticipated a nice hot and relaxing bath when she eventually got home.

 

What she didn’t anticipate was Tony, leaning against her desk, waiting for her.

 

She was surprised when she flipped on the lights and saw him standing there.

 

“What are you doing here?” she asked. She might have sounded annoyed, or maybe even a little angry. She blamed her exhaustion.

 

When Tony crossed his arms, she saw him wince a little. She knew it was from his injuries.

 

“You were keeping tabs on me?” he asked sternly. He sighed when she didn’t answer and briefly looked away. “Rhodey told me you called him.” He paused. “And Nat told me.”

 

Pepper smirked and moved towards him. “Of course she did.”

 

“You could’ve called, or texted, you know?”

 

That would be torture for both of them. “I couldn’t do that to you.”

 

He raised an eyebrow. “Yet you asked Nat to keep an eye on me?”

 

“I was worried,” she replied. “It’s the reason why we broke up, remember?”

 

Tony frowned and lowered his gaze in sorrow. “Yeah, I remember.” How could he not?

 

She saw the disappointed look on his face and immediately regretted her words. She spoke before she could think. She moved closer to him and grabbed his hand to comfort him. She missed the warmth from his slightly rough skin. She had wished it lasted longer.

 

He was slightly surprised by her gesture and gazed back up at her.

 

She smiled warmly. “I’m glad you’re okay, Tony.”

 

He replied with a small smile of his own, but it quickly faded. She wasn’t sure if it was because of her presence, or of her previous comment. She forced herself to pull away from their conversation in efforts to stop causing him anymore pain than he was already feeling.

 

“I—“ Before she could excuse herself, he interjected.

 

“Can I… talk to you?”

 

She raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. Their previous conversations, post-break-up, was always short and to the point. The usual fluff in-between and afterwards had dissolved along with their relationship.

 

“Uh, yeah. Of course.”

 

He dipped his head into his hand and heavily sighed.

 

“Is everything okay?” she asked worriedly.

 

“I found out how my parents… uh… passed.”

 

She furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

 

His heart began to throb in pain, and his left arm started to twitch. He shook his head and kept it low. He moved over to one of the chairs in front of her desk and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

 

Pepper moved to the spot in front of him and quickly listened. She didn’t realize how bad the situation was until Tony gazed up at her; his hooded dark brown eyes mimicked tear stained glass, strained and tempered, yet forced to uphold itself at the moment of being shattered.

 

“My parents were assassinated, so to speak,” he murmured.

 

She continued to listen. In all her years of working for Tony Stark, she learned that often times all he needed was someone to listen, because, to him, it was the best form of comfort.

 

“I can’t be mad at anyone though. It wasn’t his fault, and it wasn’t my parents fault. It was just… a terrible end.” He grit his teeth. “The moment I found out, I was so _angry_. I blamed him for taking _her_ away from me. I blamed him for those years of regret, because I didn’t get to say good-bye to her or tell her how much I loved her. I didn’t get to tell my dad what a lousy father he was.” He paused. “And then Steve defended him, and I got angrier and angrier. And things spiraled out of control…”

 

She moved closer to him when she saw how restless he was becoming. She wrapped her arms around his head, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. He buried his head in her stomach and took shelter in her comfort and warmth.

 

She tried to take away his sadness by running her hands through his hair and massaging the spots she knew were effective in calming him down.

 

“It’s okay, Tony,” she said softly. “It’s okay.”

 

“I don’t want to lose you, Pepper. I don’t want to go through that ever again. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle the regret.”

 

She frowned and hugged him tighter. “Just because we broke up Tony doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.” She placed a lingering kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll always be here for you, and I’ll always love you.”

 

He smiled to himself and took a few moments to pull away from her. “Friday told me you got into work at six in the morning.”

 

“Hm?” she hummed in confusion.

 

“It’s late. You’re at least six hours into overtime.”

 

She brushed off his comment. “I had to take care of some things.” The last thing she wanted was for him to feel bad for keeping her from going home.

 

He smirked. “Thank you, Pepper. For everything.”

 

A month later, they had a long talk about their relationship and decided to work on their compromise. They talked out their individual issues and came up with possible solutions. They took it one step at a time and eventually decided to get back together. They didn’t tell anyone until two weeks later when Bruce walked in on them having sex in the living room.

 

A year and a half later, Tony proposed to Pepper in front of the entire world.


End file.
